Meta

Islam in Europe: How Deep is the ‘Gray Zone’?

As we have posted previously, the myth of a tiny minority of Muslims who hold extremist views is just that.

Now the Gatestone Institute has published an article which again addresses those figures and asks: How deep is the ‘Gray Zone’ of ISIS sympathizers within European societies?

Among young European Muslims, support for suicide bombings range from 22% in Germany to 29% in Spain, 35% in Britain and 42% in France, according to a Pew poll. In the UK, one in five Muslims have sympathy for the Caliphate. Today more British Muslims join ISIS than the British army. In the Netherlands, a survey shows that the 80% of Dutch Turks see “nothing wrong” in ISIS.

Even if these polls and surveys must be taken with some caution, they all indicate a deep and vibrant “gray zone,” which is feeding the Islamic jihad in Europe and the Middle East. We are talking about millions of Muslims who show sympathy, understanding and affinity with the ideology and goals of ISIS.